This Twitter Account Collects Photos Of Cats In Small Shops Looking Like They Own The Place
A bodega cat is a feline that inhabits, you guessed it, a bodega. It’s what New Yorkers call their convenience stores or delis.
And these furballs aren’t just judging the buyers and their purchasing choices. No, no, they also provide comfort to workers after they endure clients from hell and can even carry out pest control missions, managing or preventing rodent infestations.
Bodega Cats is a social media project dedicated entirely to celebrating these hard-working kitties. The premise is simple: people spot a bodega cat in its natural habitat, they snap a photo of it and submit it to the people running the show. They select the best ones and share them with their followers. The result, on the other hand, is glorious: a refined collection of adorable cat pics.
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Interestingly, bodega cats are technically illegal. The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene considers them a “general deficiency”, raising concerns about the risk they pose for food contamination. Fines range from $300 for the first offense to $2,000 and higher for subsequent offenses.
“Any animal around food presents a food contamination threat,” Robert M. Corrigan, a rodentologist and research scientist for the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene told The New York Times. “And so that means anything from animal pieces and parts to hair and excrement could end up in food, and that alone, of course, is a violation of the health code.”
9 hours ago
Such a happy relaxed little face in contrast to that headline.
However, many shop owners keep cats in spite of the law because they are seen as preferable to rodent infestations, which also carry a fine.
“In the morning she is lazy, it is her nap time,” Urszula Jawor, 49, a deli manager and a Polish immigrant described her feline employee. “But in the afternoon she is busy. She spends hours stalking the mice and the rats.”
9 hours ago
Starting tomorrow new diet of fruits and veggies. I promise
Mr. Corrigan agreed that some studies have shown that even the smell of cats in an enclosed area can keep mice away. But he nonetheless believes this isn’t an acceptable form of pest control because the bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites, and nematodes carried by rats may infect humans by secondary transfer through a cat.
Andre Duran, one of the owners of a corner store in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, said he had kept a cat for about six years and had never been fined. “That’s Oreo,” he said, lifting a tiny black cat with white paws. “No one’s ever complained about cat hair in their sandwiches, and if she weren’t here, you bet there’d be bigger problems than hair.”
10 hours ago
Ya gonna believe the sign, or ya gonna believe my face. Enter at your own risk.
10 hours ago
“Liver, please.”
9 hours ago
Loafing
10 hours ago
Protecting his personal stash of litter and food. Back off.
9 hours ago
Nice, so I could buy a sweater with cat hairs of a different color than my usual black and white.
10 hours ago
£19.99! That’s cheap man!
9 hours ago
Errrrmm……Can i see your ID please??
8 hours ago
A cat in a box, how very normal.
8 hours ago
I said two bottles only
9 hours ago
Definitely a portal..
9 hours ago
I think the cat could’a taken him..
10 hours ago
Someone must have interrupted his nap. Not a happy kitty.
9 hours ago
How do you want your eggs? Er, without hair please 🙂
7 hours ago
NOOOOOOOO!!!!!
8 hours ago
BOOP
10 hours ago
i love this way of saying ‘thank you’ 😀
10 hours ago
Cashier in training
12
8 hours ago
“You going to get what you came for or are you just gonna stand there staring?”
7 hours ago
These roses have claws
10 hours ago
poised!
9 hours ago
Proof of a link between felines and Corona 😉
10 hours ago
Let’s see your ID first.
8 hours ago
Newbie.
8 hours ago
Wait your turn!
10 hours ago
Is the cat there to distract from the walls!
9 hours ago
No need to guard the TP anymore 😉
Note: this post originally had 77 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
Read more: http://www.boredpanda.com/convenience-store-cats/